Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of coupon discount offers and specifically to an improved method for the distribution and redemption of a plurality of manufacturer coupon offers without the necessity of multiple paper coupons.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently a popular method of promoting consumer products is for manufacturers to offer paper coupons to a consumer which provide discounts on specific products when purchased at a retail store. Over 250 billion paper coupons are distributed annually.
Coupons for products from different manufacturers are often combined by a third party and delivered to the consumer in one common vehicle. An example of this would be paper coupons from a variety of manufacturers printed on pages in what is known as a xe2x80x9cfree standing insert.xe2x80x9d This insert is then placed in a Sunday newspaper.
A retailer may also place coupons from different manufacturers in an advertising vehicle such as an insert in a newspaper or retail circular distributed within a store. These coupons are authorized and redeemed by a manufacturer even though they are placed by a retailer in the advertising for that retailer. Because these coupons from a manufacturer appear in the advertising of a retailer they are commonly referred to as manufacturer xe2x80x9cin adxe2x80x9d coupons.
A linear bar code is printed on each paper coupon from a manufacturer. These familiar black and white vertical stripes are also referred to in the industry as a xe2x80x9csymbologyxe2x80x9d In this case the linear bar code is a linear symbology since data is encoded in one direction along the horizontal axis. More recently a two-dimensional bar code or two-dimensional symbology has been and is being used in some industries to encode a large amount of data into a small space. With this two-dimensional symbology, data is encoded in two directions, along the horizontal axis and the vertical axis. Various types of linear and two dimensional symbologies are available today.
The term xe2x80x9clinear bar codexe2x80x9d when used in the description of this invention refers specifically to the EAN 128 linear symboloy that is broadly used in the consumer packaged goods industry to encode data on manufacturer coupons. The term xe2x80x9ctwo-dimensional bar codexe2x80x9d when used in the description of this invention refers to any two-dimensional symbology.
The linear bar code when scanned at the point of sale identifies a manufacturer offering a coupon discount offer, a product to which the coupon discount offer applies, the number of purchase multiples required, an amount of the coupon discount savings, an account or program to be charged, and an expiration date. The linear bar code is usually scanned at the point of sale so that the purchase can be verified electronically and the appropriate coupon savings deducted from the total amount of the purchase. The coupon is then collected from the shopper at the point of sale and physically submitted by the retailer to the manufacturer or his agent for reimbursement.
The current method of distributing and redeeming multiple paper coupons from different manufacturers is inefficient and inconvenient. The consumer must clip each coupon individually from the delivery vehicle. Multiple coupons must be organized, carried to and throughout the store, and redeemed at the point of sale. Also, the handling of multiple paper coupons by the cashier at the time of redemption is cumbersome thereby slowing down the checkout process.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a method of economically delivering a plurality of coupon discount offers from one or more manufacturers for one or more products to a large number of consumers in a manner that maximizes convenience for the shopper.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a method for a retailer to quickly redeem a plurality of coupon discount offers at the point of sale.
The foregoing objectives can be accomplished by using a disposable coupon card that contains coupon discount offers for a number of individual products from one or more manufacturers. Identification data for each coupon discount offer is encoded into a two-dimensional bar code and printed on one side of the disposable coupon card. Unlike a linear bar code printed on a paper coupon that contains identification data for one coupon discount offer, a two-dimensional bar code will contain identification data for a plurality of coupon discount offers. This encoded identification data printed on the disposable coupon card is read at the retail point of sale for electronic verification that the required products were actually purchased. At that time the appropriate coupon savings is deducted from the total amount of the purchase.
The disposable coupon card is constructed of paper or lightweight plastic and therefore can be economically distributed to a large number of consumers. The disposable coupon card can be delivered by a variety of distribution vehicles including paper inserts placed in newspapers; paper circulars distributed by retailers, magazines, and direct mail pieces. The disposable coupon card can also be inserted in packages for consumer products or handed directly to a consumer in or near a retail establishment.
Unlike paper coupons that have to be individually clipped and organized, and individually taken to the retail store, the present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the related art by providing a method for the consumer to redeem a plurality of coupons with one disposable coupon card. And unlike paper coupons, the retailer handles only one card at the point of sale.